Max Caulfield/Alternate
Whenever Max Caulfield manipulates time or time travels, her subsequent actions result in the alternations of the original timeline. In an effort to save both Arcadia Bay and her best friend, Chloe Price, Max inadvertently creates different timelines wherein the lives of everyone she knows play out differently with the survival of William Price. Alternate Timeline "Chaos Theory" When Max regained her senses, Chloe appeared beside her and mentioned that William would eventually get a "newfangled computer". William regarded Max and hoped that the flash of his camera didn't scare her. Disoriented, she watched as a fourteen year old Chloe interacted with her father, discussing the photograph he'd just took. When Chloe asked if she was alright, Max hesitantly assured her friend that she was fine. Unsure of how she was able to travel back to the time when she was thirteen and retain her eighteen year old consciousness, Max watched Chloe interact with her father. She decided to prevent William's death for Chloe. Examining her environment, Max spotted the snow globe that belonged to William that she may have broken or never found in Chloe's room and photographs of Chloe's family as a child. When the phone rang, William answered the phone to speak to Joyce, who needed a ride home. Remembering the events that led to William's death, Max searched for his keys. In her first attempt, Max failed. William was able to locate his keys under his cap and prepared to leave, warning the two girls the avoid touching the wine so that that Joyce would prepare "salmon surprise" with chocolate cake. When William asked if Max was staying for dinner, Chloe gleefully tells him that she was never leaving her. William agreed and disappeared into the light surrounding the first floor of the house. Rewinding time, Max located Williams keys and discarded them where William could not find them. Eagerly, Max suggests to William that he take the bus, citing its reliability and environmental strengths. Convinced, William left the house to pick up Joyce on the bus. Chloe, confused by Max's behavior, asked if her friend was alright. Relieved, Max reassured that they were "awesome" as the timeline begins to change. A Different World Max's actions in the past directly impacted the present. Chloe's life without her father and with David Madsen as her stepfather were erased, replaced with events that occurred with her father's survival. When Max "wakes up" in her new reality, she's surrounded by members of the Vortex Club. Victoria refers to her as Maxine and asked if she was okay. Still disoriented from the change, Max reminds her that her name was "Max" and never "Maxine". Victoria hastily apologizes, hoping Max isn't angry with her and asks if she wanted to go to girls bathroom to "smoke 'em peace pipe". Courtney and Taylor make note of Max's odd behavior, Taylor assuming that she was high on drugs. Courtney disdainfully mentioned that she told the other Vortex Club members that they shouldn't have allowed Max into the club, but Taylor makes a point of mentioning Courtney never wanted anyone in the club. Max gets up and leave without a word. Just a few steps away from the Vortex Club members she encounters Warren with Stella Hill. Max assumes Warren and Stella have become a couple. Warren regards her for a moment before focusing his attention back on Stella. Fearing the worse, Max wonders what else she changed by preventing William's death and fears for Chloe. Max heads for the bus stop as the bus arrives. When the doors open Max is greeted by David Madsen, now the school's bus driver. Boarding the bus, Max watches her imprisonment pass. At some point the bus stops near the beach. Brooke Scott and Evan Harris approach the windows on her side of the bus to look outside. Max follows their line of sight and discovers three beached whales washed ashore. Getting up, Max ran the rest of the way back to Chloe's house. Anxious, she approached the door and knocked. William answered, surprised to see Max back from Seattle after so long. When he expressed that the family thought they'd never see her again, Max stated she'd never do that to Chloe. William calls for his daughter, knowing she'd be happy to see her best friend. When she appears at the doorway, Max is unable to believe the sight of her friend in a wheelchair, genuinely happy to see her again.